Where to eat free or cheap on Father's Day 2017 — and how to get freebies

OK, let's admit it: Father's Day just doesn't carry the same weight as Mother's Day.

You can't buy mom a tie and a pair of socks and leave it at that.

Along those lines, you won't find as many freebies for dads this weekend as we saw for mom on Mother's Day. But there are still some good deals, bonuses and freebies that he might be interested in.

Food deals

Hooters (you just knew Hooters would be on this list, didn't you?) is featuring a "Buy 10 Wings, Get 10 Wings Free" promotion on Sunday. Dad gets to enjoy his favorite things: beer, wings and the—uh—view.

In 2017, for the first time, Frisch's Big Boy is offering dad's a free breakfast bar in the morning if someone else in your family purchases the breakfast bar. It's essentially a BOGO, but is still a nice deal.

Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Carrabba's Italian Grill are having a gift card bonus, where if you buy dad a $50 gift card, you get an extra $10.

One caution: the bonus gift card is for your NEXT visit, not your Father's Day visit. So don't get mad at your server.

Ruby Tuesday ups the ante over those restaurants with a $15 bonus if you buy dad a $50 gift card.

Ibotta has another new, fresh for 2017 offer. It is essentially giving dad a free beer. How? Upload a photo of a beer in a restaurant to Ibotta's app on Sunday, and they will put $5 in your Ibotta account. So they are buying your beer at any of the above restaurants.

Great Father's Day sales

This is a great weekend to buy dad something many guys love: new tools, especially power tools.

You will find big sales, and special end-cap promotions, all weekend at Home Depot, Lowe's and Sears.

Free day at the zoo

Many zoos across the country -- including the Cincinnati Zoo, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo and Milwaukee County Zoo -- will have free admission for dads on Sunday.